Card file



Oct. 6, 1942. J. M. HURLEY` CARD FILE Filed May 27, 1940 Patented Oct.6, 1942 STATES r fr rio 4 Claims.

This invention relates to vcard les and is particularly adapted for leswhich can be conveniently transported and also conveniently opened toprovide a ready reference le wherein the le cards and papers will notbecome disarranged while being transported.

An object of my invention is to provide a card le of this type which canbe completely closed to protect the contents of the file and which, whenopened, will present the contents in such position that they can bereadily referred to.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for convenientlyholding the contents of a iile wherein certain cards may be removed andkept segregated where ready reference to a small portion of the file isdesired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a portable card iileincluding a receptacle and a closure wherein the closure is movablerelative to the receptacle but connected thereto to provide a convenientunitary structure.

These and other objects and advantages will more fully appear from thefollowing description made in connection with the accompanying drawing,wherein like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout theviews, and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section showing the device open;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional View in closed position; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken approximately on the line 4-4 ofFig. 2.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. l through 4 there is provided arectangular receptacle 8 having four walls of equal height. On innersides of opposite side walls of the receptacle I provide plates 9 whichare spaced inwardly from said side walls and are provided with cut-awayportions I0. These cut-away portions lie adjacent a vertical partition II across one end of the receptacle. Edges I0, the partition II, and thebottom of the receptacle 8 provide a guideway I2. The receptacle isprovided with a closure I3 which is of such Width that it will t betweenthe plates 9. At one edge of the closure I3 is a transverse pin I4 whichis slightly longer than the width of the closure and which iits into theguideways I2 at its opposite ends. Thus the closure is capable oflimited movement relative to the receptacle, said movement being, ofcourse, determined by the shape and extent of the guideway I2 whichextends vertically for a distance nearly as great as the height of thereceptacle and horizontally for a shorter distance, as best shown inFig. 2.

Pivotally connected to the transverse pin I4 is a plate I5 which, asbest shown in Figs. 2 and 3, has two at portions which are disposed atan angle of approximately degrees. The space between the closure I3 andthe plate I5 is adapted to receive a plurality of le cards I6, the endsof which are adapted to rest upon one flat portion of said angular platewhen the plate is in one position, and the sides of the cards areadapted to rest upon the other portion of the plate when the plate andclosure are moved to the position shown in Fig. 3. A substantiallyT-shaped element I'I is shown inserted in the stack of cards. In Fig. 2the head of the T-member lies beneath the edges of the cards, and theshank of the member lies approximately in the middle of the stack ofcards between two adjacent cards. The element Il provides a movablepartition in the main chamber of the device and when only a few filecards are present it will prevent them from slipping down and willmaintain them in the desired position when the device is open and thecard index is used.

When the device is moved from the open posi.- tion shown in Fig. 2 tothe closed position shown in Fig. 3, the closure at its lower end ismoved along the guideway I2 and thence upwardly with the pin I4 ridingin the guideway. This draws the plate I5 to the left as shown in Fig. 2,and if the closure is swung shut, the cards are changed from theangularly upstanding position of Fig. 2 to the flat stacked positionshown in Fig. 3. A stop flange I3 at one end of the receptacle Bsupports that end of the closure I3 opposite from the end which carriesthe pin I4. The pin carrying end is held against upward movement by theweight of the index cards which are lying on the plate I5. A suitablecatch I9 on the outer side of the receptacle 8 can be snapped over theclosure I3 to secure the same in closed position.

It will be noted that the angular plate I5 has a tongue-like extensionI5a which is adapted to contact the inner side of the closure I3 toprevent the closure and angular plate from swinging to a more acuteangle as the device is closed. Should said closure and plate swingcloser toward each other when closing the device there Would be atendency for the hinged edge of the closure to sag and not comecompletely to the top of the receptacle. Furthermore, the tongue portion[5a prevents the insertion of too great a number of cards which wouldcause the device to jam.

On the inner face of the closure I3 is a pocket 20 into which spare orused cards may be placed and which can be removed from behind the stackof index cards I6 shown at the left in Fig. 2. The spare cards IGa areretained in position by short inwardly extending flanges 29 which areturned inwardly from opposite edges of the inner side of closure I3. Theflanges 29 extend upwardly to the end of the closure I3 and smallinwardly extending transverse tongues 39 form an upper card receivingpocket 3| which is open at the top and is adapted to temporarily receiveindex cards I6b which may bev removed from the main stack of cards forreference purposes. Another temporary card receiving pocket is providedby generally triangular side walls 32 which extend inwardly fromopposite edges of the closure I3, and the elements 32 in combinationwith an inclined plate 33 form this pocket. The shape of the pocketformed by members 32 and 33 and the flange 29 is such that a smallgroup, such as one alphabetical sub-division, of the main stack ofcards, can be placed therein to permit examination of that group asindicated by the cards |60.

It should be noted that when the device is in its closed position theangularly disposed strips 33 which extend from the side plates 32 on theclosure member are fairly close to the edges of the stacked cards attheir right-hand sides to prevent the cards from becoming disarranged.Thus the le device can be conveniently carried in a vehicle andregardless of the position in which it is placed or the amount ofjostling which it receives the cards will remain in order.

The outer side of the closure I3 is provided with a pair of retainingelements 39 beneath which can be positioned diagonally opposite cornersof a stack of cards 35. Thus cards are available for notations when Vthemain le is closed and after a notation has been made on the card, it canbe temporarily placed in a pocket 39 at the rear end of the receptacle,said pocket being offset from the closure I3 so that it remainsuncovered when the receptacle is closed.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided aportable le card structure which can be completely closed so that thecontents will not be injured by dust or other means, and which, at thesame time, can be quickly and conveniently opened and set up for use.The several parts are so interconnected that they provide a unitarystructure and there are no disconnected parts to become misplaced andconsequently the structure is such that it is of particular conveniencefor use by traveling men who might have to quickly refer to records inmotor vehicles or at customer stops.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A card file comprising a box-like receptacle, a guideway in oppositeside walls of said receptacle, a closure having a portion extending intosaid receptacle and having oppositely disposed guide members slidablytting the guideway of said receptacle walls, said guideway and guidespermitting limited movement of said closure relative to said receptacle,and le card holding means associated with said closure for movementtherewith.

2. The structure in claim 1 and said guideway extending vertically withrespect to said receptacle side walls adjacent the ends of said sidewalls and thence horizontally inwardly from ends of said side wallsadjacent the bottom of said receptacle.

3. A card le comprising a box-like receptacle, a closure memberconnected to said receptacle for -limited movement with respect thereto,a portion of said closure being adapted to extend into said receptaclein one position thereof, and card file holding means in said receptacleand connected to that portion of said closure extending into saidreceptacle, said holding means including an angular element adapted tosupport the edges of file cards in one position of the holder andclosure and adapted to support the faces of file cards in anotherposition of said holder and closure.

4. A card file comprising a box-like receptacle, a closure memberconnected to said receptacle for limited movement with respect thereto,a portion of said closure being adapted to extend into said receptaclein one position thereof, card file holding means in said receptacle andpivotally secured to said portion of said closure adapted to extend intosaid receptacle, said card le holding means comprising an angularelement adapted to support the edges of file cards in one position ofthe holder and closure and adapted to support the faces of file ycardsin another position of the holder and closure, and a tongue 'elementextending outwardly from said angular element adjacent its point ofpivotal connection with said closure.

' JOSEPH M. HURLEY.

